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Open Access 01-12-2018 | Original Article

Does medical students’ personality have an impact on their intention to show empathic behavior?

Authors: Tamara Seitz, Angelika S. Längle, Charles Seidman, Henriette Löffler-Stastka

Published in: Archives of Women's Mental Health | Issue 6/2018

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between specific personal traits and empathy. However, it is not clear if persons with certain personality traits lack the intent to show empathic behavior or if other factors independent of their intent are affecting their empathic behavior. To answer this question, we asked 132 medical students to fill out questionnaires evaluating the General Intention to Show Empathic Behavior (GISEB) and the five personality traits measured by NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Additionally, we evaluated the influence of other factors, such as age, gender, curricular progress (second versus fourth year), and preferred specialization after graduation. We performed a Pearson’s correlation and a regression analysis. Results indicate that the five personality traits and gender have little influence on the General Intention (GISEB), only extraversion (r = .221, 95% CI [.013–.394], p = .027), and agreeableness (r = .229, 95% CI [.021–.428], p = .022) correlated with the intention. The only predictor for General Intention (GISEB) was curricular progress (β = − .27, p < .05), showing a decrease of General Intention to Show Empathic Behavior from second to fourth year of university (U = 1203.5, p = .002). A further finding indicates that gender and personality influence the students’ wish of specialization after graduation: Agreeableness (F(12, 53) = 2.376, p = .016) impacted the preferred specialization. Our study demonstrated that medical students’ personality might not notably impact the intention to show empathic behavior. Further research is needed to investigate moderating effects.

The questions were

(1)

I tend to show always empathic behavior in a situation of interaction with an (actor-)patient.

(2)

I would like to try to show always empathic behavior in a situation of interaction with an (actor-)patient.

(3)

I plan to show always empathic behavior in a situation of interaction with an (actor-)patient.

The original questions were in German:

(1)

Ich tendiere dazu, in einer Gesprächssituation mit (Schauspiel-) PatientInnen immer empathisches Verhalten zu zeigen (1 bis 7).

(2)

Ich möchte versuchen, in einer Gesprächssituation mit (Schauspiel-) PatientInnen immer empathisches Verhalten zu zeigen (1 bis 7).

(3)

Ich plane, in einer Gesprächssituation mit (Schauspiel-) PatientInnen immer empathisches Verhalten zu zeigen (1 bis 7).

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Title: Does medical students’ personality have an impact on their intention to show empathic behavior?
Authors: Tamara Seitz
Angelika S. Längle
Charles Seidman
Henriette Löffler-Stastka
Publication date: 01-12-2018
Publisher: Springer Vienna
Published in: Archives of Women's Mental Health / Issue 6/2018
Print ISSN: 1434-1816
Electronic ISSN: 1435-1102
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0837-y

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